Human Centered Cities Must be Built at a Human Scale.
When we look at maps or engineering drawings, the scale at which the image is viewed changes based on the distances we want to see. An inch on the map can represent a mile or it can represent 100 miles, each of these cases represent a different scale. The distances shown on the map change with the type of travel you’re planning. The scale for planning a walk is different than the scale for planning a road trip. An inch on a walking map, represents a couple hundred feet while an inch on an interstate map will represent tens or hundreds of miles.These concepts of scale have powerful applications in urban land use and transportation planning. In architecture and urban planning, the term ‘Human Scale’ comes up a lot. ‘Human Scale’ is much more than just industry jargon, it is the key to making cities more human-centered, user-friendly, and livable.
“In the last 50 years, architects have forgotten what a good human scale is.”
―Jan Gehl
Another useful example of scale is found in engineering and architectural scales. In simplest terms, “scaling” drawings is a way to show very big things on very small paper. There are professional standards for doing this depending for different professions. A simple example is showing a proposed subdivision development at 1:1000 scale, an engineering scale. This essentially…
